Starry Eyed
by anniebrackett
Summary: Annie/Helen oneshot. Sometimes the best things are the most unexpected.


It wasn't until two weeks after Lillian's wedding that Annie and Helen's out-of-hand rivalry dissipated. But while that came to an end in a back booth at Rock'N Sushi, something else began.

When Annie showed up, she was ten minutes late and had on the same shirt she'd worn the day before, but at least she was there. She didn't know it, but when she walked through the door Helen released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Before Annie had the opportunity to aimlessly wander around the restaurant in attempts to locate the other woman, Helen stood up and signalled to her.

Lil had sent a text to each of them last minute, explaining that she wouldn't be able to make it tonight because of plans with Doug, so it was just the two of them. That text had made Annie realize that throughout the wedding planning process she should've been worried about Doug taking her place, not Helen.

Both women expected dinner conversation to be very awkward and full of uncomfortable silence, but they were surprisingly proven wrong; Annie made jokes that Helen laughed at while Helen told stories that Annie listened to. Annie was surprised to realize that she was actually having a good time with _Helen_ of all people.

Before they knew it, an hour had passed and they'd worked their way through several plates of sushi and multiple conversation topics. It was at this time that Annie realized that every time she casually mentioned Perry, Helen's eyes got a little sadder and her attempt at a smile looked watery. Basically, she looked eerily similar to the Helen that sat in Annie's car the morning of Lillian's wedding.

At the sight of this, Annie switched seats so she was next to the teary-eyed woman; their thighs brushing ever so slightly, causing goose bumps to cover Annie's skin. She tried to focus solely on Helen, and not the physical reaction she couldn't explain.

"Helen, what's going on?" Annie asks softly, trying to capture the brunette's watery gaze with her own.

Keeping her eyes on the table, Helen's answer comes a few short moments later, in a shaky breath, "Perry and I are getting a divorce."

Annie's reaction isn't exactly the definition of eloquent. In fact, it barely even counts as a reaction; "Oh."

But it still gets Helen to lift her gaze from the table to Annie's face. The lankier of the two tosses a crooked smile in Annie's direction, tears still shining in her eyes. Her smile begins to falter as she starts to lean towards Annie, her once table-focused gaze travelling all over the other girl's face before settling on her lips.

Before either of them knows it, their lips are connected in a kiss that is unlike any other for the both of them. Instead of pushing her off, Annie savours it. She savours the lingering taste of wasabi on the pair of lips connected to her own, and she savours just how damn soft they are. After all the conversation, the goose bumps, and the look in Helen's eyes whenever she looked at her, Annie saw the kiss coming a mile away, but she didn't try to stop it. She let it happen, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't help it along.

She also lets the taller woman throw a wad of her soon-to-be-ex husband's cash on the table to cover the dinner and press more quick kisses to her lips as she leads Annie out of the restaurant. They stumble to Helen's car because, in between kisses, she says something about her house being closer and empty. Plus, they both know that Annie's car is a piece of shit. And right now really isn't the best time to break down on the side of the road. Or worse, get stopped by Rhodes, who is still hopelessly trying to date Annie.

Helen's mumbled statement was right, her house is a hell of a lot closer, because before Annie knows it she's being escorted into Helen's house and practically dragged up the stairs.

The two women who were once bitter rivals are soon tangled up in each other in the comfort of the nearest bedroom. Annie's hands find their way to Helen's hips while her shirt finds its way to the floor. Only a handful of seconds later, Helen's fingers are tangled in Annie's hair while her skirt also makes the carpet's acquaintance.

She gasps "I didn't see this coming" into Annie's mouth, and Annie just smiles.

The next morning Annie wakes up in an unfamiliar bed with a now-familiar body next to her. It's then that she starts to panic. How is she going to break this to Rhodes? What about her mother? And oh, god, Lillian is going to murder them both. Or explode with happiness. Annie isn't entirely sure which.

But then Helen sleepily curls into her side, her face shoved into Annie's neck as a (very adorable) cross between a snort and a sigh slip out, causing all of those worries to disappear in an instant. And Annie can't help but think that maybe Megan was wrong. Annie may be her own problem, but she isn't her solution; Helen is.


End file.
